I won – but am I successful?
“My name is Louis and I won the most prestigious football cup competition in the world, the FA Cup, and I was sure my job would be safe.”
The recent sacking of Louis Van Gaal, after his success, was handled badly and as a Manchester United fan I felt sorry for the Dutchman. He wasn’t allowed to enjoy his moment of glory and the teams first real success since Sir Alex Ferguson.
Football is a unique case, where sacking is a common way to deal with non-performance, 60 managers have lost their job this season. Luckily that is not normal behaviour in the majority of professions.
No one wants to be sacked – it is not a great place to be and certainly does not help when securing your next position (not the case in football). The stigma attached to it, in the real world, does not mean that you will walk into another great and, more often than not, bigger job. We don’t sign up to our current companies for three years and when it is not working after two, get paid the rest of our contract. But what if we did?
Everyday people go into work thinking about the next job, confident that the grass will be greener on the other side.
But be careful, if you spend too much time thinking about your next job you can easily get distracted and lose interest in your current position and in the real world non-performance won’t be rewarded in the way that Louis Van Gaal was rewarded.
If you decide that you want a change of employer you need to balance the needs of your current role with the time and commitment that your job search will require.
A good recruitment consultant will take on much of the leg work in your job search, they will help you prepare for interviews and will make sure you are going for jobs which match your requirements.
You can then stay focused on your current position and continue to produce high quality work leaving your reputation intact – you never know who you will end up working with later in your career. Continue to be on time and be a team player, be positive, the more you stay in a good frame of mind, even in a tough situation, the better you will be able to manage your job search and potentially your exit.
Ultimately you may decide the grass is greener and it’s time to head for the exit door. During the search, and also whilst working your notice, be professional and respectful. Don’t give your current employer a chance to make things harder for you or limit your opportunities in the long term by leaving on a negative note.